March 30, 2017

Please be aware of a new phishing scam email that has been sent to some University members.

If you receive an email with an attachment with your name or surname as the title of the document DO NOT open it. Please forward the email as an attachment to sgq@essex.ac.uk.

The content of the email itself will likely look something like this:

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Hello, xxxx!

I am disturbing you for a very critical matter. Allhough we are not familiar, but I have large ammount of information concerning you. The thing is that, most probably mistakenly, the information of your account has been emailed to me.

For example, your address is:

Xxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx

Xxxxxx xxxx

xxxxx

Postcode: xxxxx

I am a law-obedient citizen, so I decided to personal details may have been hacked. I attached the file – Harvey.dot that I received, that you could find out what info has become obtainable for scammers. Document password is – xxxx

I look forward to hearing from you,

xxxxxxx

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IT Services is taking necessary actions to investigate and block further emails of this nature.

If you think you have received a scam or phishing email, stay calm and delete it – there’s no harm in simply receiving a phishing email.

For more information on how to spot an email scam, take a look at the IT Services blog.